He made the remark while receiving Chief Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in Hanoi on August 17.

The PM expressed his pleasure at the growing economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Hong Kong.

He said the Vietnam - China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has seen positive strides as the two countries’ top leaders reached important common perceptions on enhancing bilateral relations in a stable, healthy, sustainable and deep manner.

He suggested increasing delegation exchanges among Vietnamese and Hong Kong authorities, entrepreneurs, and business associations in the coming time.

The PM confirmed that Vietnam will continue facilitating investment by Hong Kong companies in transport, infrastructure, electronic spare parts, the support industry, processing and the sale of farm produce.

The two sides boast vast potential to boost cooperation in culture, tourism and jobs, he said, proposing Hong Kong considers expanding bilateral collaboration into these realms.

To facilitate people-to-people travel, the PM asked Hong Kong administration to create favourable conditions for Vietnam’s airlines to open flights and have stops at Hong Kong airport.

He also suggested the administrative region give more support for the Vietnamese consulate and Vietnamese expatriates.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said this is the first time she has visited Vietnam in the position of Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong, which holds significant meaning for her.

She expressed her belief in the future cooperation between Hong Kong and Vietnam in trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges.

She informed the host about the outcomes of her meetings with senior officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, saying there is large room for the two sides to increase collaboration in economic, trade and tourism.

The Chief Secretary hailed Vietnam as the third biggest trade partner of Hong Kong in ASEAN, saying she hopes the two sides will expand cooperation to services; especially architecture, construction, investment and finance, as many Hong Kong businesses want to invest in these fields – which contribute 95 percent of Hong Kong’s gross domestic product (GDP).

She took the occasion to thank Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for actively supporting the negotiations to sign the free trade agreement between Hong Kong and ASEAN, which she hopes will be concluded at the end of this year./.